He is known the world over for his roles in Peaky Blinders, Dunkirk and now Christopher Nolan’s lauded Oppenheimer.
However, Cillian Murphy, 47, is renowned for his privacy, offering only a bit of detail about himself throughout his years in the spotlight.
So what do we know about the Irish star? Here, FEMAIL delves into the home life, early career and family of the father of two as we take a look at insights Cillian has shared with fans of her.
Actor Tommy Shelby was born in Cork in 1976 to a mother who taught French, while his father, Brendan, worked as a school inspector before moving to the Department for Education. His grandfather, aunts and uncles were also teachers.
But not wanting to follow the family tradition of working in education, Cillian pursued a career in the arts after scoring a ‘big hit’ in his drama module at Presentation Brothers College Catholic Secondary School.
Cillian Murphy, 47, pictured with his wife, Irish artist Yvonne McGuinness, in 2016 in New York City.
However, his first love as an actor turned out not to be acting, instead he turned his talents towards music.
Cillian and his bandmates from The Sons of Mr. Green Genes, which included his brother, were even offered a five-album record deal.
However, their parents forced them to turn down the opportunity, with the actor explaining, “My brother was still in school.” I was 18 and he was 16, the thought of losing two of us was too outrageous and horrible for them so it didn’t happen and then it all fell apart.
“In hindsight, the music industry is terrible. Unless you are very successful, it is very difficult to earn a living. We would have crashed and burned pretty quickly in that industry,’ Cillian told the Armchair Expert podcast, via The Irish Examiner.
The Corkman went on to study law at University College Cork before dropping out in an effort to break into the world of acting.
But recalling the moment she told her parents of her decision, she said: “It was not a happy time in our family history,” she reported. The Independent.es.
Cillian also opened up about his ‘fairly average upbringing’ in a video with Vicesaying: ‘I grew up in Cork, my parents are teachers.
‘Pretty average, middle class upbringing, you know? They were, I think, probably anxious for me to do well in school and go to college, do all of that.
The couple have two children together, Malachy, 17, and Aran, 16. Pictured is the family in 2014.
Cillian and her family now live in Dublin after reportedly spending close to £1.7m on a Victorian house (pictured ahead of its sale)
The Tommy Shelby actor (pictured May 2023) was born in Cork in 1976 to a mother who taught French, while his father, Brendan, worked as a school inspector before moving to the Department for Education. His grandfather, aunts and uncles were also teachers.
‘I foolishly decided to get a law degree. But I was playing music. I was playing in a band and I started acting then.
‘Those two things were happening and they became much more important than going to university. I didn’t really get in at all, and I failed gloriously in the first year.
But he soon found success as an actor, appearing in the late ’90s Irish film Disco Pigs and Danny Boyle’s violent horror film 28 Days Later in 2002.
He is also known for his appearance in director Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy as the villain Dr. Jonathan Crane and his alter ego Scarecrow.
Most famously, he played Birmingham gang boss Tommy Shelby on Peaky Blinders for six seasons from 2013 to 2022, but said he couldn’t have kept up with the work schedule without his ‘incredible wife’.
He married Irish artist Yvonne McGuinness in 2004, after the couple met at one of his rock band’s shows in 1996. They had two children together, Malachy, 17, and Aran, 16.
cillian said G.Q. of his work schedule: ‘I couldn’t do this without [my wife] and your understanding. But it is a fight.
He is known around the world for his roles in Peaky Blinders, Dunkirk and now Christopher Nolan’s lauded Oppenheimer (pictured)
The cast of Oppenheimer at a photo call in Trafalgar Square in central London on Wednesday. From left to right: Robert Downey Jr, Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy, Florence Pugh and Matt Damon
“I think it’s for any parent whose job takes them away, which it usually does, and consumes them, that my job does.”
He added: “I make sure I try not to go from one job to another, because that means you live in a bubble of set, hotel, set, hotel, plane, film festivals, which, to me, is not reality.” . . So I withdraw from that for six months out of the year.
Cillian and her family now live in Dublin. after he reportedly spent close to £1.7 million on a Victorian house.
The four-storey house, originally built in 1863, is located in Monkstown, South County Dublin, and has six double bedrooms and four reception rooms.
However, although the family is now based in Dublin, their children were born in London and stayed there until 2015 before they all moved to Ireland, with the actor joking that they moved because their children were developing “very English accents.” elegant”.
“We were in London for 14 years, our two children were born there. We only returned to Dublin in 2015,’ he told the Expert Armchair podcast.
‘It’s kind of an Irish story, you know, moving in, doing your thing and then coming home. That seems to be a common narrative for the Irish.
“We wanted the kids to be Irish, and they were at that age where they were tweens and they had very fancy English accents and I didn’t appreciate that too much. Our parents are of a certain age and it was a good time to come home.
The 5-foot-7 star also noted that his children were almost taller than him.
It also sounds like she won’t be following in the footsteps of the acting elite, stating that she “couldn’t imagine” climbing sticks in Los Angeles.
Cillian said: ‘I love visiting and I love the food and I love the weather. I don’t know, I feel European, I feel Irish. I would feel like a trespasser if I lived in California, I couldn’t imagine living there permanently.
